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The career of Hilary Swank would appear to be in danger of following the downward trajectory of other recent Best Actress Oscar winners such as Halle Berry or Charlize Theron, with The Reaping failing to make big bucks and receiving some unfavourable reviews. The difference between Swank and her award-winning counterparts is that she has now won two of the little gold men, and she provides The Reaping with a strong central character, bringing a level of believability and gravitas that less talented actresses would fail to do. The premise of the film is an intriguing one, albeit scattered with the usual clichés. Swank is a university professor who specialises in investigating seemingly paranormal phenomena and explaining them scientifically. She's also someone who has lost her faith thanks to emotional trauma in her past (Signs anyone?). An interesting prologue in Chile shows her at work and sets the tone of the film immediately; the storyline then begins properly when she is informed of small US Bible Belt town whose river has turned blood red. It seems like the first of the famous ten plagues of Egypt. It's a set-up ripe for some supernatural (or explainable?) scares, and the film does make quite good use of the potential, even if most of the shocks rely on sudden loud noises.
The film looks like it has an ample budget, as it creates a creepy atmosphere and uses CGI to generally good effect. It's also an R-rated film in the States rather than a PG-13, meaning that there's no annoying reluctance to show anything juicy, although it's certainly not one of the more graphic horror films around (it's a 15 over here). The plot hinges around a little girl (AnnaSophia Robb) who the townspeople think is responsible for the plagues, and the weirdly inherent spookiness of young girls – that might just be me – is milked well by director Stephen Hopkins. Unfortunately it all predictably descends to an overblown finale, replete with foreseeable twist, but the tension is sustained effectively for substantial periods. Ultimately I left The Reaping quite satisfied, as it gave me what I wanted, and I found it more engossing than the negative buzz had suggested. In some ways it is comparable to the similarly poorly reviewed (but liked by me) Silent Hill, so that may give some idea as to who will enjoy it and who will not.
The summary
The Reaping is let down slightly by its conclusion, but it builds some good suspense and makes effective use of a promising concept.
